Brand new houses are a dream for landscape designers: There’s no need to rip out overgrown trees or reconfigure existing hardscapes. They also allow designers to work closely with clients to create exactly what they envision.
When landscape designer Joel Hafner of Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., met the owners of a property in McLean, they requested “lower plantings that wouldn’t overpower the architecture of the house” in the front yard and evergreen screening around the perimeter of the site to provide privacy from neighboring homes. Other requirements included an outdoor kitchen, a deck and a terrace with a fireplace.
In the front, Hafner created a parking court of Dublin cobble with a flagstone border. He planted perennials, flowering shrubs and evergreens that soften the entrance and complement the architecture of the home.
In the back yard, he transformed a tiny second-floor terrace put in by the builder into an outdoor kitchen and added a generous deck with a rose-covered pergola. On the lower level, double doors from the house open to a flagstone terrace with an outdoor fireplace that warms the entertaining area in colder months. Tucked beneath the deck and adjacent to the terrace is a water feature complete with a waterfall, a stream and a fishpond. Large stepping stones across the stream allow access from the terrace to the deck.
Flowering dogwoods and redbuds, hydrangeas, roses and hollies bursting with berries bring this landscape to life in every season and make the new residence look like it’s been there forever.
AWARD: Distinction, Total Residential Contracting. DESIGN: Joel Hafner, Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., Poolesville, Maryland. ACCESSORIES & STYLING: Gwen Seidlitz, Sage Interiors, Great Falls, Virginia. PHOTOGRAPHY: Bob Narod.
Small yards often require ingenious design because there’s little space for all of the components a client wants. When the owners of a Bethesda residence called McHale Landscape Design, Inc., to overhaul their modest property with its unassuming landscaping, they asked designer Carolyn Mullet to plan “a garden they could live in” that included a spa, a swimming pool and more inviting plantings.
In front, Mullet designed a granite-edged parking area and a new front walk and added plantings for year-round interest. Now, a Sweetbay magnolia graces the front entrance, winter-blooming jasmine spills over a front wall and hydrangeas and spirea bloom away all summer.
The major challenge was finding room for everything the clients wanted in the 35-by-60-foot back yard. Mullet removed a large second-story deck and replaced it with a balcony where the owners can enjoy their morning coffee. A stairway leads down from it to the patio below. There was enough space left for a 22-by-10-foot lap pool with a spa and waterfall. The pool is flanked on one end by a white crape myrtle and on the other by Japanese snowbells which screen out neighboring properties. A shower and changing room were built under the stairway.
“We took a space that was unappealing,” says Mullet, “and we made it into a place that gives them the exercise they want, that looks beautiful from the house, and gives them a place to have dinner and socialize.” Big, bold plantings around the pool, including drifts of black-eyed Susans, Sum & Substance hostas, Arena lilies and Winterthur viburnums, lend the back yard a modern look as well as a sense of drama.
AWARD: Grand, Total Residential Contracting. DESIGN & PHOTOGRAPHY: Carolyn Mullet, McHale Landscape Design, Inc., Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
Garden trends are shifting as homeowners become more discriminating about their choices of materials and plantings. Almost everyone now wants an outdoor “room” instead of a simple garden with handsome plantings, and today’s outdoor spaces nearly always include special features that extend the garden’s season.
On the pages that follow, you’ll see five elegant gardens that were among the winners of the 2008 “Excellence in Landscape” awards sponsored by the Landscape Contractors Association (LCA) of Maryland, DC and Virginia. A tiny garden on R Street in Georgetown features a heated spa that can be used year-round. A garden conservatory in Northwest DC is outfitted with a fireplace that makes it cozy in winter and air-conditioning that keeps it cool in summer.
Landscape architect Chad Talton of Surrounds Landscape Architecture and Construction designed a garden in McLean that includes a shady area underneath a spacious deck and a separate poolside bar with a built-in wine rack, counter space, refrigerator and sink. “Across the board,” he says, “most people ask for an outdoor grill area. And a lot of them ask for outdoor structures, whether it’s an arbor, a pergola or a pool house.”
Designer Brian Hunt of Botanical Decorators agrees. “A real trend these days is an outdoor fireplace,” Hunt says, “and more homeowners are asking for landscape lighting.”
At Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., designer Joel Hafner sees more requests for specific materials and styles. The ubiquitous azalea, he says, is “a dying breed,” because clients have decided that they don’t like the look of them after their brief bloom in spring. “We get a lot of requests for cut-flower gardens and hydrangeas,” says Hafner, gardens with “an English feeling.” Others ask for in-ground trampolines and paving materials that stay cooler than bluestone, he says.
Luckily, local landscape professionals are staying ahead of the curve and meeting their clients’ needs in style, as you’ll discover in the award-winning gardens on the following pages.
Jane Berger is a Washington, DC-based landscape designer and publisher of GardenDesign Online.com.
AUTHOR: Jane Berger is a Washington, DC-based landscape designer and publisher of GardenDesign Online.com. AWARD: This Baltimore garden by Chapel Valley Landscape Company won two LCA awards.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Roger Foley.
Interior designer Robyn Collins has a very different take on gardens. She sees her one-acre garden as a series of other “rooms” that are part of her house. It’s a place where accessories and flower arrangements vary according to season and where there are “secret places” to relax and hide out. Above all, it’s a space where family and visitors feel just as comfortable outside as they do indoors.
“I’ve always thought a garden should be as welcoming as possible, just like a house,” says Collins, who runs her design firm, RDC, out of her Bethesda home. In her garden you’re greeted by cheery primulas and stately irises, nodding daylilies and waving ornamental grasses as you stroll across a beautifully crafted stone bridge that traverses a narrow creek. Approaching the front door on a spring day, vibrant purple pansies line the front walk on either side and surround upright boxwood in large urns on either side of the front door. A small planter filled with more violet pansies adorns a coffee table that completes the front porch seating arrangement. It’s clear that this is the garden of a designer who brings her professional eye and flair outside.
When Robyn Collins and her husband, Bill, bought the property in 2004, they completely renovated the house, opting to leave the existing swimming pool and pool house in place. However, they decided that the garden needed a major overhaul. Collins immediately turned to Melissa Clark of Landscape Projects, Inc., who worked on parts of the garden in the couple’s previous home in Potomac.
Together, Collins and Clark walked the landscape and decided which plants to save, which ones to discard and which elements to include in the basic design. “Robyn wanted a kind of English-looking garden,” says Clark, “with lots of lavenders and pinks and soft pastel colors, and spots of yellow here and there.”
In the rear yard, Collins designed the pond and waterfall just off the rear patio in conjunction with Burtonsville, Maryland-based Premier Ponds. Tall ornamental grasses seclude the pool from view. Clark explains that a spring runs under the entire site, so much of the yard contains plants that tolerate wet sites, such as sweetbay magnolia, red-twig dogwood, summersweet and Virginia sweetspire.
Collins alters her garden’s décor with the change of seasons. In spring and summer, she relies on her bountiful flowering plants for arrangements, but in winter she switches to holly and Southern magnolia leaves, berries and tiny Japanese cedar pinecones. In the breezeway that runs from the front to the back yard, Collins often rotates the adornments, from watering cans to coffee pots to birdhouses or figures of squirrels or rabbits. She swaps the green cushions covering her outdoor furniture in fall and spring with khaki-and-white ones in summer. “Whether it’s the stonework, the fencing, the candles you put on your deck or the cushions you put on your seating pieces, it all plays a part,” she says.
She also believes that sound plays an integral role in a home’s décor. “A house has music; it has the noise of the people and all the commotion,” she says. Collins sets an audible stage outdoors with the soothing sounds of the stream in her front yard, the waterfall in back and wind chimes strung here and there. “A garden,” she says, “needs to have a voice, just like a house does.”
Jane Berger is a Washington, DC-based writer and publisher of GardenDesignOnline.com. Melissa Clark is a certified landscape designer and photographer at Landscape Projects, Inc., in Bethesda, Maryland.
Landscape Design: Melissa Clark, Landscape Projects, Inc., Bethesda, Maryland
The hottest trend in outdoor living is extending the indoors outside, but some homeowners believe it’s a better idea to bring the outdoors in. That’s where custom-built conservatories enter the picture. Glass houses let you enjoy the garden when there’s a cold, early spring rain; in high summer when it’s too hot and humid to venture outside; on a blustery fall day when leaves are brilliant oranges and reds; and during winter snowfalls that turn the landscape into a silvery wonderland.
Conservatories are a definite cut above an ordinary sunroom constructed with ordinary glass windows. A custom-built conservatory has individual glass panels whose characteristics can vary widely.
If you plan on bringing tropical plants indoors for the winter, you’d likely opt for a glass that lets in light while reducing the risk of foliage burn. Some glass panels have insulating capacities that will allow you to use the room year-round; others reduce glare or deflect the sun’s rays in regions where summer heat can make glass structures uncomfortably warm.
Other considerations include the type of wood that will frame the conservatory and whether you want to use the room year-round, or perhaps for just three seasons. Typically, builders prefer mahogany for framing. While the wood is expensive, it’s considered the most beautiful, it requires minimal maintenance, it provides a good fitting for custom panels and it lasts for about 100 years.
Architects say that clients want conservatories for many reasons. Some people want the feeling of being outdoors without the hassles of insects, heat and humidity and summer downpours. Others may simply desire more living space and want to enjoy the landscape in the process.
The conservatory pictured on page 199 in McLean, Virginia, is a separate structure designed specifically to complement the very formal landscape. Architect Alan Stein, president of Denton, Maryland-based Tanglewood Conservatories, explains that the building not only contains a spa, but it also functions as a pool house, with changing rooms, a shower, bathrooms and a small kitchenette tucked across the rear length of the structure.
A freestanding conservatory by Tanglewood in McLean,
Virginia, is home to a spa, changing rooms and even a
small kitchenette.
The spa is accessible through side doors several feet from the master bedroom suite in the residence, and through the main doors that line up directly on axis with the swimming pool. Just beyond the pool is an open-air cabana that contains a wet bar and barbeque grill.
There is no air conditioning inside the conservatory, but the tinted glass panels in the roof keep it cool. The mahogany woodwork is painted to match the trim on the house, and the floor of beige-colored limestone is almost the same hue. According to Stein, the major challenge of this project was to design a conservatory that would “fit in and play its role in this very formal landscape.”
From the front, it looks like a glass house that you might see in England. The rear part of building is actually a low brick structure with a flat roof designed to play off the flat putting green adjacent to it.
Conservatories in general can be very challenging to build, depending on their location. They require “sophisticated structural engineering” and must be able to withstand “strong winds, piles of now…or even earthquakes,” says Stein.
The mahogany woodwork is painted to match the trim on
the main residence.
John Schmitt, vice-president of Kingston Custom Builders in Fairfax Station, Virginia, agrees. He says building codes were revised after Hurricane Isabel hit the region in 1993, and plans must now “meet shear loads required for hurricanes.”
An essential component of the Kingston project in Potomac, Maryland, pictured opposite, is a custom-manufactured steel support structure that meets these new building regulations. When the conservatory was under construction, it looked like “half of Stonehenge,” says Schmitt. The clients wanted to replace an open-air deck one floor up from ground level with a room that would create an outdoor ambiance.
Hyattsville, Maryland-based architect Bernie Guay decided to retain the old patio’s rustic, random-rectangular slate flooring. On top of it, they built a structure with an 18-foot-high raised ceiling and tall glass windows with panoramic views of the landscape beyond. The hidden steel framework supports a copper roof, and inside, there are exposed wood beams, built-in window seats with storage, a high curio shelf and a skylight. Dormer windows on three sides, along with ceiling fans, keep the room comfortably cool in hot weather.
As a final touch, Kingston built in a barbeque grill, vented like a kitchen stove. Now, the homeowners have exactly what they asked for: a three-season space with dining and seating areas that feels just like a super-sized tree house.
A well-designed conservatory, says Stein, “changes the way people live and relate to their houses, because it always becomes the favorite room in the home.” He adds that glass houses improve homeowners’ quality of life because they create the illusion that you’re outside when you’re not. “It’s a magical feeling that’s almost impossible to describe,” he says. “There’s an unusual, very magical quality of light that draws people in, and they start to spend all their time in the conservatory.” That sounds like a reason to re-consider the deck and the patio and perhaps opt for a conservatory instead.
Jane Berger is a Washington, DC-based writer and publisher of GardenDesignOnline.com.
A large serpentine bed of Knock Out roses causes cars almost to careen off the road when drivers first catch a glimpse of the stunning display that blooms all summer long in front of an old ship pilot’s house in Lewes, Delaware. It’s part of landscape designer Scott Brinitzer’s plan to give the front a “simple treatment” in keeping with the spirit of the architecture.
Despite its appearance, however, this landscape is anything but straightforward and uncomplicated. Site constraints made the project “beyond difficult,” says Brinitzer. Not only is the lot long and narrow, but it is angled, front to back, at 45 degrees and is also bisected by a road that runs in front of the house. Therefore, when the homeowners look out of the back of the house, their neighbor’s yard is directly in their line of sight, while their own property is to the right. Similarly, when they sit on the front porch and look toward the water, the neighbor’s lawn is in front of them, while their own dock and gardens are again to the right.
When Brinitzer first encountered the homeowners, they set the main parameters for designing their landscape, which until that point consisted of swathes of grass, tangled vines and a plastic in-ground pool. Having traveled extensively in Italy, the homeowners wanted a garden that reminded them of Tuscany, complete with a new swimming pool, a spa, an outdoor fireplace, a “summer house” addition that would double the size of the circa-1836 residence and plenty of space for entertaining. To make matters even more complicated, there was a 10-foot setback requirement on each side of the property, so the dimensions of the pool and the addition had to be exact. In the end, says Brinitzer, “we were within an inch of tolerance on every single structure.”
The shape of the property required an unusual layout for Brinitzer’s plan. Like a dance, each adjoining outdoor space moves forward and to the right from the last. The main design for the site is composed of views that are dictated by the 45-degree angles. Brinitzer located the fireplace and dining garden directly off the back of the main house and raised the area to meet the level of the kitchen floor and make a seamless transition between inside and out. The fireplace itself was faced with stucco to match the house, and seat walls of the same material were built alongside it to provide more space for visitors and to echo the architecture of the house. This area is now the garden’s main hub of activity, used as a breakfast room, by children for roasting marshmallows and by adults for after-dinner drinks and conversation.
From the dining garden, guests continue back into the herb garden, where a small circular pool is surrounded by boxwoods and purple and white petunias. Continuing along a pathway, guests walk under a pergola covered with roses and through a gate that takes them around to the home’s new addition, which houses a large great room on the main level and a bedroom upstairs.
Turning a corner around the addition, an entirely new landscape unfolds: a spa nestled among lush planting beds, a swimming pool and a “spring house.” This small structure with a water-trough fountain serves as a focal point and gate leading to the back garden. To the left, a neighbor’s garden with magnificent 150-year-old boxwoods comes into view.
Brinitzer contacted the neighbors, and convinced one of them that it made sense “to blend the properties.” To camouflage the fence that’s required around the pool, he planted fall-blooming camellias and boxwood on both sides of the property line. Each self-contained garden room in Brinitzer’s plan envelops guests completely; it’s impossible to survey the entire landscape from any given point. Upon arrival, says Brinitzer, “you don’t really understand it. You have no idea where you really are until you walk through the whole thing, and then it all makes sense.”
Because of the garden’s strong structural elements, Brinitzer introduced plantings to make the architecture less apparent over time. He introduced a number of “romantic” elements such as climbing Jackman clematis, New Dawn roses, lavender, catmint and hydrangeas with large blue flowers. Imported Italian containers overflow with colorful annuals. Many of the plants were selected by the clients, in consultation with Brinitzer, to determine what would work best in summer heat and humidity.
Three Italian cypresses were planted near the swimming pool, and three more in the contemplative garden, reached by walking through the spring house. That garden includes a bench, numerous shade plantings and a serene lawn that creates a park-like setting.
Across the street from the main house is the “canal garden” that takes guests down to the dock and the Rehoboth-Lewes Canal. The lawn serves as a spillover parking lot and as a big open area where a tent can be set up for large parties. It is flanked by perennial beds that cascade down to the water, each containing a specific plant: rugosa roses in one, Virginia sweetspire in the next, feather reed grass in another, and so on all the way down to the dock house and canal.
Brinitzer notes that the entire site is perfect for his clients’ many, many visitors. Between them, they have about 72 first cousins, so large family gatherings are a frequent occurrence.
Brinitzer says that guests usually spend the entire day at the pool and spa, then wander across the street and down through the canal garden to the water to watch the sunset over drinks and hors d’oeuvres before heading back to the dining terrace for dinner. “What we have here, really, is an all-inclusive resort,” he says. “It’s hard to get anyone to leave the compound.”
Washington, DC, landscape designer Jane Berger is publisher of GardenDesign Online.com. Photographer Roger Foley is based in Arlington, Virginia.
Aesthetics aside, most homeowners don’t realize that all pools require basic maintenance every 10 to 15 years. Concrete pools have to be re-plastered; if the pool liner is vinyl, you’ll need a new one. And while you’re at it, you may as well fix the tile and the coping. “It’s very similar to re-decorating a room inside,” says landscape architect Howard Cohen of Surrounds Landscape Architecture and Construction. “You might have some things you want to keep, but you’ll probably want a new, fresh look.” Re-doing the pool is also a lot less expensive than ripping everything out and starting over. Don Gwiz of Lewis-Aquatech says a basic update, including a new interior finish, tile, and coping, might cost $25,000, but there is no limit if you want a completely new fashionable outdoor living area.
The three makeovers that follow illustrate a vast array of possibilities for those old, outdated tubs that are sitting in the middle of so many back yards.
A Lush Destination
Ornamental grasses, an array of colorful perennials and a new lawn and walkway have artfully disguised a prominent free-form pool that now lies hidden behind a profuse Mediterranean-style landscape. The homeowners contacted Botanical Decorators to renovate the pool and remove the pool equipment from the basement of the house. According to landscape architect Steve Wlodarczyk, the company’s vice president, as the equipment aged, it sprang a leak and flooded the basement. “It was a major ordeal,” he said, “to get the equipment out of there and relocate it on the site.”
The pool was sitting in the middle of the yard, in plain sight of the house, like a floating spaceship. Designer Morgan Washburn nestled the pool into the landscape, adding new planting beds between the house and the pool to give the yard a sense of mystery. It’s now hidden from the rear of the house, and it does not come into view until you either wander across the lawn or down a curving path that is lined with vibrant plantings. The existing pool decking was
replaced with Sundek, a surface material that is cool to the feet and soft to walk on. Pockets of planting beds were added around the edge of the pool to give it a more lagoon-like feeling, and a small seating area at one end creates a quiet niche just large enough for two lounge chairs.
Wlodarczyk says the new design has completely transformed the back yard. “The pool is now a destination,” he says, “rather than an element right outside the back door.”
Design & Photography: Morgan Washburn, Botanical Decorators, Olney, Maryland.
“What was done in 1985,” he says, “is clearly out of date.” And that, he adds, includes back-yard amenities as well as architectural style.The swimming pool in this Great Falls project was definitely due for a facelift. It had a dated water line tile, an exposed aggregate pool deck and a white plaster interior, “which gives you that powder blue YMCA look,” says Gwiz. In addition, the spa at one end of the pool had a strange-looking shelf for sun-tanning that stuck out from the edge of the spa.
The homeowners called Lewis-Aquatech and said they wanted a complete makeover of the swimming pool, located just off the rear of the house. Gwiz left the shell of the pool in place and upgraded the interior with a dark blue pebble finish that gives the water a more desirable color. The pool deck and water line tile were replaced with flagstone, the sun-tanning shelf was removed and the spa was faced with stone and new coping.
Most clients today, says Gwiz, want stone around their pools, whether it’s travertine, limestone or Arizona flagstone. They also want outdoor accoutrements like pergolas and kitchens, fireplaces or fire pits, waterfalls and arbors. As Gwiz puts it, “Outside is in now, and it’s all about a complete outdoor living space that is based on the client’s desires.”
It’s difficult to imagine why anyone would allow a pool contractor to locate unsightly pool equipment in plain view. Hiding the tanks and pipes and meters was one thing that immediately came to Howard Cohen’s mind when he met with clients in Reston who wanted to replace the decking around their pool. As discussions proceeded, the clients decided “to take the project to a completely different level,” says Cohen.
In the end, Surrounds ripped out everything in the yard except for the shell of the pool itself. An old wall that cut the yard in half was knocked out and the site was re-graded to open up the entire back yard. Timber walls were torn down and replaced with gently curving stone walls of Tennessee ashlar to match the house. Cohen re-worked a steep staircase down to the pool, adding an extra step for a more gradual descent. He also convinced the clients to put in a new, higher and safer fence. “Usually pools are grandfathered in,” he explained, “and a lot of old pools don’t have fences up to code.”
The old pool decking was replaced with concrete pavers that look like flagstone, and a spacious circular patio was created at one end of the pool. New plantings were added to circular planters, and mulched beds along one long side were converted into an expansive lawn. Cohen says the entire area has been dramatically transformed, and the homeowners now have “much more useable space.”
Landscape Architecture: Howard Cohen, Surrounds; Landscape Architecture and Construction, Sterling, Virginia; Photography: Ron Blunt, Washington, DC
A formal, imposing house calls for a formal-style landscape, and that’s one reason why the old swimming pool on this Bethesda property had to go. When designer Julie Patronik arrived at the site, she encountered an old, irregular-shaped pool surrounded by a chain link fence.
It definitely needed an update. The homeowners had completed major renovations to the house and wanted a formal landscaping plan with a swimming pool large enough to use for exercise. “One of the oddest things about the project,” says Patronik, “is that the lot is very unusual and the pool is in the front yard.”
Since the house sits back toward the rear property line, a back yard pool would be impractical. Luckily for the homeowners, the old, existing front yard pool made it possible to “grandfather” in the permit for the pool renovation, since it was in the same location.
McHale ripped out the old pool, enlarged it, changed the shape to a rectangle, and added a spa at one end. They installed a new flagstone pool deck and enclosed the entire area with brick pillars and wrought-iron fencing. Two large iron gates now frame the front door of the house, and when they’re open, they invite visitors to walk down a narrow flagstone path through the front lawn to the pool. Tall Leyland cypresses screen out neighboring properties and simple, clean lines and lots of boxwood enhance the stately look.
Washington, DC-based writer Jane Berger is publisher of GardenDesignOnline.com.
Design: Julie Patronik, McHale Landscape Design, Inc., Upper Marlboro, Maryland; Photography: Erin Brooke Bogan
McHale Landscape Design, Inc.
The selection of materials for garden walls, walkways, paths and the like, collectively called hardscape, can make or break a successful landscape. The multitude of products available these days—pavers, cobblestone, brick, flagstone, concrete, slate and more—gives homeowners and designers many more options than they had in the past. In the examples shown here, landscape designers shed light on the reasons behind many of their hardscape decisions.
Paths of Stone
This rear garden in Calvert County (above) falls into a category called a “critical area” because it is less than 100 feet away from the Patuxent River. Landscape designer Carolyn Mullet of McHale Landscape Design, Inc., chose natural boulder steps for the garden stairway for two main reasons. First, they made “an easy transition from the driveway level to the back terrace,” she says. In addition, she explains that the weight of the steps “lets them sit right into the slope” without a concrete footing. She knew the steps would meet the requirements for a critical area review, which only allow a certain percentage of the total land area to be covered by impervious surfaces. Plantings, mostly native, were chosen from the acceptable list for critical area sites.
The front of this same property did not fall into the critical area, so Mullet was free to pursue other options for the main walkway to the stone house (left). Because the house is traditional, says Mullet, “we wanted to nod at that, but also put in something that would be more interesting.” She has always admired the Pebble Garden at Dumbarton Oaks, and has also seen gardens in Europe and Mexico that incorporate pebbles in paving. So she decided upon a combination of flagstone, which met the “traditional” standard, along with bands of pebbles set in a diagonal pattern. The result is a very stylish front walk that complements the landscape perfectly.
Design: Carolyn Mullet, McHale Landscape Design, Inc., Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
Novel Hardscape Solutions
This site is typical of many in metropolitan Washington, DC: a large brick house sitting back from the street at the top of a rather steep slope. Kathleen Litchfield of Petro Design Build says people “often under-use the front yard, and sometimes that’s where everything happens, especially if you have children.” She decided to anchor this front yard by creating a courtyard, complete with seat wall, where people can congregate. She used brick to match the house and set it in a concrete base. “Regardless of what you’re putting in the front, brick or flagstone,” she says, “it should be on a solid base because it’s your primary access area.” She explains that visitors wearing high heels or walking at night can easily trip on loose bricks, pavers or flagstones, creating an unnecessary liability.
This backyard vignette includes a seat wall that can be used to accommodate guests, a rounded “shelf” that can be used as another seat or as a base for a fire and an antique fireplace panel that serves as a focal point. Underneath the “shelf” is a space to store firewood. Litchfield says contractors flamed the edge of the stone seat wall—it’s called a burnt edge—to “give it a softer look than a straight-cut edge.” The flagstone patio was originally to be set in stone dust in keeping with the client’s desire for a more natural setting, but the homeowner eventually decided to have the patio set in concrete because it would be much easier to hose down. Litchfield says either option is feasible, but a concrete base adds about $7 per square foot to the total cost.
The tall brick walls surrounding this backyard space in Old Town, Alexandria, were beginning to crumble, so Kathleen Litchfield of Petro Design Build built a stone wall in front of one of the walls to “hold it up.” She installed a small lead shell in the wall, from which a fountain cascades into a small pond below. Because she could not find brick to match the surrounding walls, Litchfield installed a flagstone patio with turf joints next to the pond and added a decorative cobblestone border. When you can’t match older brick, she advises, it’s better “to switch materials altogether.” The patio was set in stone dust with a two-inch gap between the stones to allow room for turf. Litchfield says whether you use turf or moss or another low-lying groundcover, “it looks like an Oriental carpet.”
Design: Kathleen Litchfield, Petro Design Build, Mitchellville, Maryland. Photography: Ruggeri Photography.
A new open-air pavilion, rock garden and lily pond distinguish
this award-winning project by The Landscape Group;
photography by Steve Mendler.
The garden is no longer just a bed with flowering shrubs and eye-catching perennials. Rather, it’s now a reiteration of interior living space, complete with dining and living rooms, and much more. When asked what homeowners want in the garden these days, Morgan Washburn of Botanical Decorators, Inc., says the trend “seems to go far beyond a simple patio with plantings. The requests are particularly for outdoor kitchens, upholstered furniture that looks like it could grace a living room…pool houses and fire pits, especially the gas-fueled ones that can be fired up so easily.”
Michael Prokopchak of Walnut Hill Landscape Co., Inc., says that outdoor kitchens are still very popular. “More people are cooking outside and using their outdoor space as a continuation of the house for entertaining,” he said. In the following pages, you’ll see gardens from all around the DC metropolitan area that illustrate these latest trends. All are among the 2007 winners of the “Excellence in Landscape” awards sponsored by the Landscape Contractors Association (LCA) of Maryland, DC and Virginia. From the sophisticated roof garden near DC’s Logan Circle to the Eastern Shore retreat on the banks of the Tred Avon River, all feature extensive outdoor living areas that are similar, in many ways, to interior great rooms.
Steven Mackler of The Landscape Group says today’s outdoor rooms, like many interiors, feature “attention to detail and fine craftsmanship.” They are gardens, he says, that “express a quiet and simple elegance … and our clients expect nothing less.”
Au Naturel
Landscapes with dramatic changes in elevation present difficult challenges for any designer. To allow the homeowner full use of the property, it’s almost always necessary to build a series of retaining walls, steps and stairways to get from top to bottom.
For this large two-acre property in Potomac, Maryland, landscape architect Howard Cohen of Surrounds Landscape Architecture and Construction decided to opt for large boulders and stone steps in keeping with the client’s wish for a natural look. In the front yard, Cohen suggested the installation of a courtyard for parking that would make a better transition to the front door of the residence. Now, a large parking area made of pavers with a flagstone edge allows easy access to a spacious front landing complete with stone wall, a bench and cascading perennials.
In the back yard, Cohen installed a generous flagstone patio adjacent to the house and tucked in a spa that’s secluded by tall evergreen trees and shrubs. From the patio, you descend a long natural stone stairway down to the swimming pool some 25 feet below the top of the yard. For the pool deck, Cohen used a paver that looks like flagstone, but is much easier on bare feet in hot weather. “It gives you the illusion of flagstone at a fraction of the cost,” he says.
To retain the slope, create planting beds and build the stairway from the pool back up to the residence, Cohen hauled in about 130 tons of natural weathered boulders and 60 tons of flagstone steppers. Because there was so much hardscaping involved, Cohen explained, he utilized masses of plants—all deer-resistant—to soften the hard edges of the stone. Ornamental raspberry, a prolific evergreen groundcover, creeps in, around and over the boulders on the hillside. Native grasses and mounds of perennials are woven together to provide a rich tapestry of color and texture. Cohen planted 50 Virginia sweetspire at one end of the pool “to make a statement,” and used Kashmir deodar cedars as the “signature tree” in the landscape. He also added splashes of color to the strong green palette with burgundy-leafed forest pansy redbuds and Japanese maples.
Howard Cohen, Surrounds Landscape Architecture and Construction, Sterling, Virginia; Grand Award, Total Residential Contracting. Photography by Ron Blunt.
Sleek and Sophisticated Aerie
Washington’s Logan Circle area is much in vogue these days with its popular restaurants, theaters, new boutiques and vibrant street life. The owners of a sleek and minimalist condominium called in landscape designer Morgan Washburn of Botanical Decorators to create a roof garden to go with their very contemporary residence and lifestyle. The clients wanted plenty of room for entertaining, a strong architectural design and a modest amount of flowers for a space that was approximately 15 by 50 feet.
Washburn decided to divide the area into two separate spaces to take advantage of the two-unit building’s natural views and its high parapet walls. A spiral staircase inside the condo leads up to the lower roof level, where a whole new world unfolds. You step out onto a flagstone patio, where winter-blooming jasmine and weeping blue spruce cascade from planters atop the parapet walls. Water trickles down the façade of a stone fountain with a gentle, mellow sound that dissipates some of the street noise. Washburn says the lower patio level “has a real feeling of enclosure.” The high walls buffer it from the wind, but also block some of the views.
To gain back the views of the neighborhood panorama, Washburn constructed a raised deck on the upper level using the tropical hardwood, îpe. From the lower level, you ascend three sleek curved steps with risers made from perforated stainless steel; lighting behind the risers shines through at night. The stainless-steel motif is repeated on the doors of the air conditioning enclosure and on the railings of the upper deck.
Washburn turned the entire design upon a 30-degree axis. When you’re on the site, he explains, “it dramatically changes…the way you experience the views around you, so that you’re not looking at the grid pattern of the city.”
The clients frequently use the upper level as a dining terrace. Washburn added two planters with river birch trees to provide filtered shade. The color palette is a warm one, achieved through the use of ornamental grasses and colorful annuals. The plantings fit the livelier mood on the upper level, while a cool palette of blues and lavenders adds to the more contemplative feeling on the lower level.
Morgan Washburn, Botanical Decorators, Inc., Olney, Maryland; Grand Award, Outdoor Living Area. Photography by Morgan Washburn.
A large flagstone patio and walkways connect the house to the pool and outdoor kitchen. The summer kitchen, says Prokopchak, includes a two-sided fireplace,which the clients use year-round. “From the pool, you can see the fire,” he says, “and you can also see it when sitting in the dining area.” The kitchen area also includes a grill (with side burner for crabs), a refrigerator and a storage area with an outdoor shower nearby.
A stepping stone path allows visitors to amble through the garden. Two river birches flank a large expanse of grass that runs nearly 100 feet out toward the water. “There’s something happening in the garden all through the year,” says Prokopchak. ‘Knockout’ roses bloom from spring through the late fall, and a variety of ornamental grasses, including maiden grass, feather reed grass and fountain grass, keep the planting beds looking lush and colorful from late spring all the way through the entire winter season.
Michael Prokopchak, Walnut Hill Landscape Company, Annapolis, Maryland; Grand Award, Outdoor Living Area. Photography by Jay Stearns.
A Graceful Approach
The Eastern shore site had everything: a linear house on the banks of the Tred Avon River, a lengthy deck running across the back of the house and a swimming pool. But there was nothing except the distant pool to lure the homeowners outdoors. When they saw what Steven Mackler, president of The Landscape Group, had done for some of their neighbors, they gave him a call.
Mackler designed a plan with a new deck; a patio with a rock garden, pond and waterfall; and an open-air pavilion with a covered roof. As he puts it, he wanted “to open up the vista to the water and give them a graceful, elegant approach into the garden.”
Now, a stone wall with light-topped pillars on either side defines the entrance into the property and gives visitors “a sense of actually entering into the space,” says Mackler. The existing swimming pool was left in place, but Mackler says he “needed to make it work with everything else.” He linked the pool and the adjacent pavilion to the house with walkways of western Maryland stone and a stone bridge that runs between the waterfall and the pond. Mackler also added a new concrete pool deck and a curved arbor that echoes the arc of the pool and is covered with Amethyst Falls wisteria and clematis.
From the pavilion, there are views to the water and rock garden; a stone fireplace makes the structure useable most of the year. The garden overflows with colorful trees, shrubs and perennials, including Japanese maples, a crape myrtle, canna lilies, ornamental grasses, Siberian iris, black-eyed Susans and annuals that cascade over the edge of the pool. While the husband has an avid interest in gardening and does a lot of the maintenance, the wife, says Mackler, “never felt she could use the garden.” But the re-do has “changed her whole approach,” he says, especially because she now has a place to sit and enjoy the lovely views.
Steven Mackler, The Landscape Group, Washington DC; Grand Award, Outdoor Living Area. Photography by Steven Mackler.
LCA Award Winners
2007 Excellence in Landscape Award Winners
DECADE AWARD
Maintained for 10 years or more
TruGreen LandCare Mid-Atlantic Region
Philip Morris USA, Commercial Maintenance
HERITAGE AWARD
Maintained for more than five years
TruGreen LandCare Mid-Atlantic Region
Riderwood Village Retirement Community,
Commercial Maintenance
Downtown Silver Spring Redevelopment,
Commercial Maintenance
GRAND AWARDS
Botanical Decorators, Inc., Olney, MD
Gaithersburg Residence, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
Laytonsville Residence, Craftsmanship (Design/Build)
Hampshire Greens Residence, Front Residential Planting & Entranceway (Design/Build)
Hampshire Greens Residence, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
Logan Circle Residence, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
The Hawksfield Residence, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Clearwater Landscape Contractors, Inc., Ijamsville, MD
Ellicott City Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., Poolesville, MD
Trone Residence, Residential Maintenance
Garden Gate Landscaping, Inc., Silver Spring, MD
York Residence, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Hardisty Residence, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Durston Pool Project, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
Inside Out Services, LLC, Silver Spring, MD
The Portals, Commercial Maintenance
The Fairmont Washington DC Hotel, Commercial Maintenance
John Shorb Landscaping, Inc., Kensington, MD
A Residence in McLean, Residential Maintenance
Ariel Rios South Courtyard, Commercial Landscape Installation
Washington, DC, Residence, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Arlington, VA, Residence, Front Residential Planting & Entranceway
Landscape Projects, Inc., Bethesda, MD
Wittenstein Residence, Front Residential Planting &
Entranceway (Design/Build)
McHale Landscape Design, Inc., Upper Marlboro, MD
Potomac Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Eastern Shore Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Edgewater Residence, Total Residential Contracting
Easton Residence, Total Residential Contracting
Jeon Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Wann Residence, Front Residential Planting & Entranceway
Alexandria Residence, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
Petitbon Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Smith Residence, Total Residential Contracting & Entranceway
Haney Residence, Total Residential Contracting
McHale Landscape Design, Inc. (continued)
Annapolis Residence, Total Residential Contracting
McLean Residence, Front Residential Planting & Entranceway
Cohen Residence, Residential Maintenance
Pilli Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Ruppert Nurseries, Inc., Laytonsville, MD
The Asia Trail Exhibit at the National Zoo, Commercial Landscape Installation
Marine Corps Barracks at 8th & I, Commercial Maintenance
Scott Brinitzer Design Associates, Arlington, VA
Walsh-Sheridan, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Murphy Golder, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Surrounds Landscape Architecture and Construction, Sterling, VA
Stein Residence, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Gelbard Residence, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Brown Residence, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
The Landscape Group, Ltd., Washington, DC
Lewin Residence, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
Tom Mannion Landscape Design, Inc., Arlington, VA
Lap Pool in Bethesda, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
Walnut Hill Landscape Company, Inc., Annapolis, MD
Fishing Creek Residence, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
Severn Grove Residence, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
Wheat’s Lawn & Custom Landscape, Inc., McLean, VA
Private Residence in Oakton, Residential Maintenance
DISTINCTION AWARDS
Botanical Decorators, Inc., Olney, MD
Silver Spring Residence, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
The Brickman Group, Ltd., Gaithersburg, MD
The Crescent at Fells Point, Commercial Maintenance
Freddie Mac, Commercial Maintenance
National Maritime Intelligence Center, Commercial Maintenance
Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., Poolesville, MD
Heflin Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Strouse Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Samadi Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Heritage Landscape Services, LLC, Chantilly, VA
Stone Ridge Association, Commercial Maintenance
John Shorb Landscaping, Inc., Kensington, MD
A Residence in Kalorama, Residential Maintenance
McHale Landscape Design, Inc., Upper Marlboro, MD
Reston Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Thrasher & Kaufmann Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Turner Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Zeiller Residence, Total Residential Contracting
Smirnitopolous Residence, Outdoor Living Area
HONORABLE MENTION AWARDS
Botanical Decorators, Inc., Olney, MD
Darnestown Residence, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
Clearwater Landscape Contractors, Inc., Ijamsville, MD
Ohr Residence, Total Residential Contracting
Potomac Residence, Total Residential Contracting
Bel Air Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., Poolesville, MD
Jefferson, MD, Residence, Total Residential Contracting
Mitchell Residence, Total Residential Contracting
Great Scapes by Earth Scapes, Inc., Deale, MD
Gergar Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Surrounds Landscape Architecture and Construction, Sterling, VA
Billak Residence, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
TruGreen Landcare Mid-Atlantic Region
Westminster Canterbury Richmond, Commercial Maintenance
Jane Berger is a Washington, DC, landscape designer and publisher of GardenDesignOnline.com.
Most experienced landscape designers and architects agree that the best-laid gardens and outdoor spaces are the result of a high degree of planning. Fall is the perfect time of year to start planning future outdoor projects so that work can begin before spring arrives.
Becoming familiar with reading a plan can assure that you and your landscape professional are on the same page. A professional master plan offers a detailed aerial view of your entire property. It shows the property lines, the location of your house and garage within them and maybe the surrounding woods or city streets. Lawns, driveways, pools, patios, steps and walkways are easily recognizable in a plan. In addition, most master plans identify at least the major trees and shrubs, usually by botanical name. Master plans are given to contractors and used as a guide to install the landscape as specified.
According to Kathleen Litchfield, president of Petro Design Build Inc. in Mitchellville, Maryland, a master plan helps clients define their budgets ahead of time. “It’s a lot cheaper to make changes on paper,” she says, “than to put in the landscape and realize it doesn’t work.” No two landscape designers or architects follow exactly the same process for designing master plans, and no two of them will produce the same kind of plan. Some companies write out the names of plants on the plan itself; others might use a numerical or lettered code for plants, with an accompanying list that identifies them by botanical and common names.
Landscape designer Tom Levie of Baltimore-based Heritage Custom Lawn and Landscape Inc. says that if clients have trouble understanding the plan, a company rep will often take them to other projects to show them, for example, what a waterfall or proposed paving will look like. Heritage’s plan (right, top) details a very formal design, in keeping with the style of the house. “The house was very symmetrical,” says Levie, “so we tried to carry that into the design and center everything on the house.” In line with the central bump-out on the deck are a planting bed, a raised circular spa that spills over into the pool, the swimming pool itself and a waterfall at the back of the pool spilling over large boulders.
Landscape designer Brian Holden of Serene Ponds and Landscapes in Bowie, Maryland, suggests that clients who are planning landscaping projects clip magazine articles with pictures of gardens they like and think about plants and colors they prefer. “If we can get close to what they’re looking for,” he says, “we usually can exceed their expectations.”
Serene’s back-yard pool design (right, bottom) is the fifth generation of the original master plan, adjusted as the clients decided whether or not to put in a pool. The first plan included a pool with waterfall. Then the pool came out, and a cabana and main entertaining patio replaced it. In the final design shown here, guests descend down a long flight of steps from the house to the main patio, then step down about 12 inches onto a paved sun deck with an eye-shaped spa, then into the pool. A circular patio area in the lower left-hand corner is set about two feet below the level of the pool, accessed via natural stone steps. “It creates an area where the parents can socialize away from the pool but still have a view of it,” says Holden. While most projects do not go through five revisions, designers should make the necessary changes “to get them [clients] what they want.”
Kathleen Litchfield of Petro Design Build Inc. would certainly agree. “There’s so much to consider when designing a landscape,” she says. Before the initial meeting, Litchfield sends clients a detailed questionnaire about their lifestyle, design preferences, entertainment needs and much more, all the way down to the number of pets and the location of trash bins. After an initial consultation, she and her team develop several options. If changes are required, Litchfield sometimes creates an overlay with tracing paper on the original plan so that clients can decide if it’s what they really want. She’s currently doing an overlay for one client to add a parrilla—an Argentine-style barbeque—that’s gaining popularity in the area.
Petro’s colored master plan (above, left) details a property in Bethesda, on a lot approximately 50 by 150 feet. It includes stone walls and steps that ascend to the raised spa on the rear patio. Litchfield says if clients have trouble understanding a plan, she often includes drawings that detail what particular areas in the garden will look like.
The front yard was designed to protect a large, existing and quite magnificent Moonlight beech tree represented by the brown circle near the upper right-hand corner. The irregular light gray shapes are boulders, and shrubs and perennials are circular or billowy shapes in a variety of colors. The large circles on the plan are new trees—in this case, river birches whose peeling bark matches the color of the stone on the house. In the back yard, Litchfield designed a spacious patio for entertaining and a square-shaped raised spa with a plunge pool next to it. A screened breezeway that runs between the house and the garage is designated on the plan by squares filled with x’s. There’s a small lawn with room enough for a hammock, and even a propane fire pit on one side of the patio (the yellow circle with orange flame).
As you can see the from the plan, an experienced designer can fulfill a client’s every desire even in a space as small as this one, and everything fits together perfectly. As Litchfield modestly puts it, “This client has impeccable taste, and I didn’t want to clutter up the design.”
Landscape designer Jane Berger is publisher of GardenDesignOnline.com.
Sandy Clinton, a landscape architect and president of Clinton and Associates, says the green-building movement now taking hold across the United States is also having an effect on what people want. "People are getting in touch with Mother Nature and Mother Earth...and they want to preserve what they've already got," she says.
In the pages that follow, you'll see lily ponds and "natural" swimming pools, backyards that reflect their woodland surroundings and water features that mask the sound of traffic and, perhaps, transport homeowners to another time and place.
Jane Berger is a Washington, DC, landscape designer and publisher of GardenDesignOnline.com.
Fantasy Retreats
The backyard is no longer just a place where homeowners go to relax. It can be a center for entertainment and drama, or serenity and peace. Accordingly, a new type of water feature is taking over urban and suburban backyards, according to James Londot, president of Serene Ponds and Landscapes. Homeowners, he says, are “looking for a way to escape from inside their houses…a place they can retreat to.” A swimming pool these days is more than just a swimming pool, and water features and ponds have definite themes. His company recently completed projects that re-create a mountain creek (this page) and a Caribbean beach (opposite). “We’re working on one now with an Italian feel to it,” he says.
The waterfall in the picture above recalls a mountainous stream, with water spilling down a hillside over large boulders. It actually empties into a swimming pool that’s on the edge of a large, curvilinear patio at the rear of the house, located in Owings, Maryland.
On the opposite page is a “Caribbean” garden that boasts a 30-foot wide waterfall that drops into a “cool” spa that’s heated to the same temperature as the swimming pool below. The garden includes an outdoor bar with a thatched roof, water that’s a bluish-green color and a “beach” entry to the swimming pool that allows the clients to gradually descend into the water.
Landscape Design: Serene Ponds and Landscapes, Bowie, Maryland Photography: Richard Allen, Annapolis, Maryland
A Natural Palette
A property overlooking the Occoquan River calls for a special kind of landscape, particularly when the backyard sits well above a clear expanse of river. According to Don Gwiz, vice president of Lewis Aquatech, the homeowners knew exactly what they wanted: a “unique architectural feel” to go along with the riverside setting. Unique is what they got.
As the centerpiece of the design, Lewis Aquatech constructed a large rectangular pool lined with a black exposed aggregate called “pebble tech.” At one end of the pool deck is a raised spa (pictured above) lined inside and out with black glass tiles from Italy that reflect the plants in the surrounding landscape. The spa spills over into a rill that leads to a shallow children’s pool, and steps descend to a circular fire pit with a seat wall that’s adjacent to the side of the swimming pool. It’s modern, it’s clean, it’s crisp and it’s definitely architectural.
For another project in Great Falls, Lewis Aquatech designed a natural pool and spa to enhance a woodland setting (pictured right). The pool has a built-in circular spa and a “negative edge” along the back side. Steps from the pool deck lead down to an expansive lawn where the homeowners can sit and enjoy the waterfall. “If the yard is in a natural setting,” says Gwiz, “then that’s the palette one should use to design—lots of boulders, lots of stone, lots of free-form radiuses.”
Landscape Design: Lewis Aquatech, Chantilly, Virginia.
Re-Creating Mother Nature
Corner lots often come with heavy traffic, and this property in Lake Barcroft, Virginia, was no different. The client called in McHale Landscape Design Inc. to create a garden to go with an addition that was underway. Senior landscape architect Anthony Cusat recalls that the homeowner “wanted the newly designed house to seamlessly integrate into a naturalistic landscape.” Cusat designed an eastern alpine landscape by staging the emergence of a small stream along the tree line with strategically placed boulder outcroppings.
The garden was designed to be appreciated with views both from within the house as well as within the garden’s outdoor rooms. A large window in the homeowner’s office frames a river birch that’s planted next to the waterfall and pond. Stone masonry and boulders are integrated so that the entire landscape flows together. Natural stepping stones and a mass planting of Amsonia climb to a lawn area above the waterfall.
Purple water lilies, elephant ears, grasses, boulders, and waterfalls set the stage for this lily pond by Serene Ponds in Annapolis. Photography by Richard Allen. “We were really trying to downplay the hand of man in everything,” said Cusat, “to make it look like the landscape existed prior to the home’s construction.”
Along one side of the property, Cusat built up a wide planting bed with soil excavated during the home renovation. “Day and night, cars would zip by his side yard,” said Cusat. “We constructed a berm with a mixed evergreen screen accented with seasonal shrubs and perennials to buffer the traffic. This planting offers privacy year-round and aided in achieving the client’s desire for a woodland respite.”
Landscape Architecture: Anthony Cusat, McHale Landscape Design Inc., Upper Marlboro, Maryland Photography: Erin Brooke Bogan, McHale Landscape Design Inc.
Landscape architecture: Yunghi Choi, Tucson, Arizona Photography: Roger Foley, Arlington, Virginia.
A Lush Landscape
Serene Ponds created this waterfall that spills into a generous-sized swimming pool in an Owings, Maryland, home. Photography by Richard Allen. To create a truly distinctive landscape, you need someone who can think outside the box. And the owners of this three-acre property in Vienna, Virginia, found exactly the right person to re-design their backyard and create an outdoor space where they could relax and entertain—landscape architect Sandy Clinton, president of Clinton & Associates. An addition to the house used up most of the level landscape. Clinton first encountered a backyard with a steep cliff-like hill sloping steadily upward. In the design stage, she envisioned a dramatic water feature for the backyard and the clients gave her the go-ahead. Now, three large and sculptural retaining walls hold back the slope and buttress a 40-by-20-foot lily pond. “The walls create a dramatic backdrop for a series of waterfalls coming over the top of each wall,” Clinton explains.
A bluestone patio with a seat wall surrounds the pond and a raised planter with three river birches adds height and dimension. When the owners look out from the rear of the house, they see the terrace and seat wall, then water, trees, more water and then the walls. “In that sense, it’s truly theater,” says Clinton, “because it’s like a stage. You’ve got all these layers on a sloped hillside, easily viewed.”
The pond fits in perfectly with the natural woodland. When you park in the driveway, Clinton says, “you hear the water everywhere, and it just draws you back into this tranquil, peaceful and soulful woodland landscape.”
Landscape Architecture: Sandy Clinton, Clinton & Associates, Hyattsville, Maryland Photography: Roger Foley, Arlington, Virginia.
Serene Ponds created a tropical ambiance in this Severna Park, Maryland, project that features a 30-foot-wide waterfall dropping into a spa. Photography by Richard Allen.
According to ASLA, koi ponds and fountains are also favored assets, and many homeowners want sustainable landscape solutions, such as native plants that require less water and maintenance or green roofs and rain gardens.
These national trends are evident throughout the Washington metropolitan area. In the pages that follow, we cover a sampling of the Landscape Contractors Association of Maryland, DC and Virginia’s 2006 Excellence in Landscape award-winners. You’ll see outdoor living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens and bars; swimming pools that enhance rather than overpower a landscape; roomy patios; and lots of lush native American plantings.
Dallas Reeve, whose husband, Landon, owns the Chapel Valley Landscape Company in Woodbine, Maryland, says their new garden (pictured at right) was designed to accommodate lots of visitors. It has a huge lawn area, a loggia underneath the second-story deck and a small kitchen on the lower level that she calls “our summer house.” It’s perfect for buffets, and the patio area can accommodate more than 100 guests seated for lunch or dinner. It’s just one example of outdoor living at its finest.
A Formal French Garden
A house reminiscent of a French Country chateau demands a certain kind of garden, and only the precise and orderly will do. French gardens reached their apogee under André Le Nôtre, who designed Versailles for Louis XIV, but Le Nôtre’s influence has lasted for centuries.
This Bethesda garden, designed by Julie Patronik of McHale Landscape Design, Inc., was inspired directly by the style of the clients’ house and their desire for “a formal French garden.”
A five-foot-high wall stretches across the front of the property, broken by two massive wrought-iron gates. One gate is the homeowners’ entrance; the other is for visitors. Guests are greeted outside the gate by globe-shaped burford hollies, roses and ornamental grasses. Once inside, an exposed aggregate driveway leads up to the front entry, past a long, narrow island planted with three specimen crape myrtles and green velvet boxwood. In winter months, the center area is filled with pansies, which give way to tulips in spring and flowering perennials in summer.
A rectangular infill of deep rose-colored granite blocks breaks the expanse of monochromatic aggregate. Inside the courtyard, a spacious lawn and simple plantings of light and deep pink ‘Knockout’ roses, cherry laurel and ‘Little Princess’ spirea complete the picture.
To reach the back yard, one either goes through the house or up the homeowners’ driveway and through a breezeway that connects the garage to the house. Garage bays opposite one side of the residence house the owner’s automobile collection, while the breezeway functions as an overflow patio area for large outdoor parties.
In the back yard itself, paving of Turkish limestone that matches the “Texas gold” stone veneer of the house is laid in random rectangles, interspersed occasionally with circular, tile-like patterns.
A formal parterre garden is located just off the patio, again, planted with boxwood and tulips. A swimming pool, spa and pool house are placed near the rear of the property. In front of the home’s library is a reflecting pool flanked with 10 pink dogwoods. A formal hedge of yew separates the formal garden area from a woodland garden with shade plantings and a winding path of gravel, in keeping with the French Country look.
Patronik says that one of the great pleasures of the project was the owner’s considerable knowledge about plants. “I was incredibly surprised,” she said, “because very few of my clients know very much about plants.” Although he wanted a simple plant palette, the homeowner requested river birch and lots of tulips, and worked carefully with Patronik on the entire planting scheme. The result is simply a formal delight for the eye.
McHale Landscape Design, Inc., Upper Marlboro, Maryland; Grand Award, Total Residential Contracting.
Informal on a Grand Scale
Big houses require big landscapes, and when a house is grand like this one in McLean, Virginia, it takes talent and ingenuity to come up with a design that looks both informal and inviting.
Landscape architect Howard Cohen of Surrounds Landscape Architecture + Construction solved the problem with a multi-level swimming pool, a rustic outdoor living room and lush plantings spread throughout the property.
The homeowners, Cohen said, wanted “what everybody wants now when they put a pool in their back yard: a complete entertaining setup.” He explained that the landscape agenda included an arbor to provide shade, an outdoor kitchen with fireplace and grill, a play area for children and a lagoon-style pool with waterfalls.
The clients also wanted an automatic pool cover, which dictates a rectangular-shaped pool. This made their request for a “natural” pool even more challenging. Cohen solved the problem by bringing in huge boulders—4,000 to 6,000 pounds each—and raising the ground level behind the pool a bit to provide the necessary drop for several waterfalls. Guests can climb into the spa adjoining the pool via “natural” boulder steps, and, just below the spa, a bench was built into the pool itself—providing an enchanting place for bathers to sit.
In the outdoor kitchen area, a rustic-looking granite sink was set into a flagstone countertop with a rough-hewn edge; huge flagstone pavers with plantings in between the stones lend a homey feeling in front of the fireplace; and the roof of the unadorned cedar arbor defines an easy-going, relaxed outdoor living room.
Finally, evergreen Japanese cedars and tall hollies were planted in back of the pool to screen the neighboring property. A grove of trident maples softens the view from the pool back to the house. Plantings of flowering shrubs and perennials, including daylilies, roses, catmint, ornamental grasses and sprawling ornamental strawberry, provide color in every nook and every corner, through every season of the year.
Surrounds Landscape Architecture + Construction, Sterling, Virginia; Grand Award, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build).
A Suburban Resort
These days, ordinary swimming pools are simply off the radarscope. Nobody who’s spending the money for a pool wants the standard rectangle or the boring old kidney shape anymore.
So when landscape architect Steve Wlodarczyk of Botanical Decorators got a call from clients in Laytonsville, Maryland, he wasn’t surprised to learn that they wanted “a back yard resort…a beautiful outdoor space that was unique and different.”
Wlodarczyk decided to base the design on views from the house. He positioned the deck, the patio, the pool house and the swimming pool at pronounced angles in relationship to the house so that wherever you stand within the landscape, your view has a great deal of depth and perspective. “We wanted to avoid a pool-house structure that monopolized the space,” said Wlodarczyk, “and we wanted a story line or path that indirectly brings you around to the pool.”
One unique feature is a pool deck made of a material called Sundeck, which is much cooler to the touch than flagstone and kind to bare feet in the height of summer.
In the front of the house, Wlodarczyk added a country-style open front porch and put in a bluestone and exposed aggregate walkway. Ornamental grasses, heavenly bamboo and spirea complete the picture, with Mohawk viburnums added for intense fragrance in spring.
Botanical Decorators, Inc., Olney, Maryland; Grand Awards, Outdoor Living Area and Front Residential Planting & Entranceway.
A Garden for Brides
Outdoor weddings require special landscapes. And this two-acre property just north of the Baltimore city line is perfect for outdoor parties. Surrounding this majestic stone house built around the turn of the last century are stately trees and mature shrubs, an expansive lawn area and a spacious patio that stretches all the way across the rear of the house.
Michael McWilliams, landscape designer and president of Maxalea, Inc., has been working on this property in collaboration with independent landscape designer Jonna Lazarus for more than 20 years. At the entry, new dawn roses and sweet autumn clematis are entwined and encircle the front door. Plantings of mature boxwood on either side of the entry are echoed in gracious urns filled with “Kingsville Dwarf” boxwood on the front stoop. Dainty white blooms of Nikko deutzia herald the arrival of spring, and in late summer an ample bed of caryopteris bursts forth in deep blue glory.
In the back yard, the two designers added stone steps through the lawn leading down to the pool area; deep, luscious borders filled with shrubs and shade plants; and a perennial garden surrounding a small circular fountain.
A few years ago, the designers were called in to tear out the old swimming pool and replace it with a lap pool and new plantings in time for the first of two weddings the owners’ daughters planned for the same year. According to McWilliams, the new pool was nestled in below the parking area and screened so that it can’t be seen from the house. “What’s nice about it,” he said, “is that it’s its own little room.”
McWilliams and Lazarus had to work around the existing trees and shrubs, but they added a wisteria to scramble over the arbor above a new deck. Around the pool, they planted more boxwood, spring bulbs and flowering shrubs and perennials.
McWilliams said the garden was perfect for the brides, who descended the grand staircase from the second-floor sunroom to the bluestone terrace below. And the plantings for the weddings were perfect as well: banks of peonies for the wedding in spring, and hydrangeas for the wedding in fall.
Maxalea, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland; Grand Award, Total Residential Contracting. Photography by Michael McWilliams.
LCA Award Winners
2006 Excellence Award Winners
DECADE AWARD
Maintained for ten years or more
Chapel Valley Landscape Company, Woodbine, MD
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Commercial Maintenance
HERITAGE AWARD
Maintained for more than five years
TruGreen LandCare Mid-Atlantic Region
Oak Crest Village, Commercial Maintenance
GRAND AWARDS
Bob Jackson Landscapes, Inc., Owings Mills, MD
Residence at Caves Valley, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Owings Mills Residence, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Botanical Decorators, Inc., Olney, MD
Fyffe Residence, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
Fyffe Residence, Front Residential Planting & Entranceway (Design/Build)
Petrovich Residence, Outdoor Living Area
The Brickman Group, Ltd., Columbia, MD
Marriott International, Commercial Maintenance
Skyline City, Commercial Maintenance
Washingtonian Center, Commercial Maintenance
Chapel Valley Landscape Company, Woodbine, MD
Private Residence in Potomac, MD I, Residential Maintenance
Private Residence in Potomac, MD II, Total Residential Contracting
Private Residence in Woodbine, MD I, Total Residential Contracting
Private Residence in Woodbine, MD II, Residential Maintenance
Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., Poolesville, MD
Pino Residence, Total Residential Contracting
Galli Residence, Residential Maintenance
Colon Residence, Craftsmanship
Garden Gate Landscaping, Inc., Silver Spring, MD
Mannon Garden, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
Neal/Marek Entrance Garden, Front Residential Planting
& Entranceway (Design/Build)
Greenlink, Inc., Gaithersburg, MD
Discovery Communications Headquarters,
Commercial Landscape Installation
Homestead Gardens, Inc., Davidsonville, MD
2006 Flower Show II, Special Events (Design/Build)
John Shorb Landscaping, Inc., Kensington, MD
NW Washington, DC, Residence, Residential Maintenance
Department of the Interior-South Building,
Commercial Maintenance
A Residence in Bethesda, Residential Maintenance
Korfonta Landscape Company, Sterling, VA
Potomac Falls, VA, Residence, Craftsmanship
Maxalea, Inc., Baltimore, MD
Ruxton Residence, Total Residential Contracting
Romantic Courtyard for Mrs. Shere, Front Residential
Planting & Entranceway (Design/Build)
McHale Landscape Design, Inc., Upper Marlboro, MD
Ward Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Mitchellville Residence, Total Residential Contracting
Easton Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Sheleheda Residence, Residential Maintenance
Vienna Residence, Total Residential Contracting
Moore Residence, Outdoor Living Area
King Residence, Front Residential Planting & Entranceway
Magnolia Residence, Front Residential
Herrington Harbor, Commercial Landscape Installation (Design/Build)
Hart Residence, Front Residential Planting & Entranceway
Clifton Residence, Craftsmanship
Cox Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Bethesda Residence, Total Residential Contracting
Potomac Residence, Total Residential Contracting
Carter Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Ken and Melissa Blake Residence, Craftsmanship
Pine Ridge Landscaping, Inc., Chantilly, VA
Westfields Business Park, Commercial Maintenance
Ruppert Nurseries, Inc., Laytonsville, MD
University of Maryland Smith Beautification Project,
Commercial Landscape Installation
Surrounds, Inc., Sterling, VA
Lineberger Residence, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
TruGreen LandCare Mid-Atlantic Region
Lowes Island, Commercial Maintenance
Corporate Headquarters Bethesda, Commercial Maintenance
United States Department of Commerce,
Commercial Maintenance
DISTINCTION AWARDS
Botanical Decorators, Inc., Olney, MD
Ahern Residence, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Chapel Valley Landscape Company, Woodbine, MD
Moxley Garden - Samuel Riggs IV
Alumni Center, Commercial Landscape Installation
Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., Poolesville, MD
Dubinksy Residence, Front Residential Planting & Entranceway
Welch Residence, Residential Maintenance
Mahoney Residence, Craftsmanship
Whiston Residence, Total Residential Contracting
Homestead Gardens, Inc., Davidsonville, MD
2006 Flower Show I, Special Events (Design/Build)
Images Landscape Architecture, Inc., Centreville, VA
McLean Residence II, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Inside Out Services, LLC, Silver Spring, MD
Cioffi Residence, Outdoor Living Area
J & G Landscape Design, Inc., Spencerville, MD
Johnstone Residence, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Ansari Residence, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
John Shorb Landscaping, Inc., Kensington, MD
Department of State, Commercial Maintenance
Korfonta Landscape Company, Sterling, VA
Fairfax Station, VA, Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Bethesda, MD, Residence, Total Residential Contracting
Maxalea, Inc., Baltimore, MD
Brookelandville Residence, Front Residential Planting & Entranceway (Design/Build)
Outside Unlimited, Inc., Hampstead, MD
Keelty Residence I, Total Residential Contracting
Keelty Residence II, Outdoor Living Area
Bon Secours Memorial Garden, Commercial Landscape Installation (Design/Build)
Quayle & Company Design/Build, Inc., Severna Park, MD
Ambrose, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
Lessin, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
TruGreen LandCare Mid-Atlantic Region
Riderwood Village Retirement Community, Commercial Maintenance
HONORABLE MENTION AWARDS
Bob Jackson Landscapes, Inc., Owings Mills, MD
Murray Hill Residence, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Residence at West Golf Course Road, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Pikesville Residence, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Complete Landscaping Services, Inc., Bowie, MD
Woodmore, Commercial Maintenance
Fine Earth Landscape, Inc., Poolesville, MD
Belair Residence I, Craftsmanship
Misra Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Johnson Residence, Outdoor Living Area
Karch Residence, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
Masri Residence, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
Lipschutz Residence, Total Residential Contracting
Garden Gate Landscaping, Inc., Silver Spring, MD
Sharma Residence, Outdoor Living Area (Design/Build)
Great American Landscapes, Inc., Clarksburg, MD
Barnett Residence, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build)
Images Landscape Architecture, Inc., Centreville, MD
McLean Residence I, Craftsmanship (Design/Build)
Inside Out Services, LLC, Silver Spring, MD
7900 Westpark Drive, Interior Landscape Maintenance
Korfonta Landscape Company, Sterling, VA
Clifton, VA Residence, Front Residential Planting & Entranceway
Maxalea, Inc., Baltimore, MD
St. Mary’s Seminary & University, Commercial Landscape Installation
McHale Landscape Design, Inc., Upper Marlboro, MD
Riverhouse, Outdoor Living Are
It's autumn in the DC area. The crisp, cool air is filled with falling leaves and the heavy perfume of tiny osmanthus flowers—and landscaping and construction crews are everywhere.
Fall is definitely one of the best times to begin landscaping projects, whether large or small, simple or complicated. If fences are erected, walls put up and patios laid throughout the fall and winter season, then planting can begin in the spring. Successful projects, however, always begin much earlier.
The following two projects shed light on how to go about planning and executing successful outdoor renovations.
Tranquility in DC
Kathleen Litchfield, President of Petro Design Build, Inc., says clients first "have to think out the project" during the design phase. "It's so easy to change your mind on paper," she says.
Litchfield sends clients a detailed questionnaire before she schedules the initial design consultation. It covers everything: the number of children and family pets; where the trash cans are located; the styles and colors the clients prefer and the materials they simply do not want in their yard. A key question is how long the homeowners plan to stay in the house. "That determines where your energy should go financially," she says. "If you're going to sell the house in a couple of years, maybe you should think about curb appeal."
Petro Design Build develops a couple of different design scenarios, presents sketches to the clients, then works with them to make sure everyone is "on the same page," as Litchfield explains. Planning is comprehensive and detailed. Drainage issues must always be considered, along with the installation of outdoor electrical wiring and outlets and underground pipes for lighting and irrigation.
Litchfield believes it's always important for landscape designers to carefully consider the inside of the house before tackling the space outside. In a recent project in Northwest DC, Litchfield collaborated with Bethesda-based interior designer Karen Snyder of Interiors of Washington Ltd. to make sure that the interior and exterior plans worked together.
A rear window with three vertical panels was replaced with a huge picture window that frames the entire yard. Living room windows that looked out on an unattractive side yard were removed. In their place, French doors were installed that open to a small stone terrace with a curved stone seat wall and a rose garden just beyond it.
In the back yard, a timber wall and steps were torn out. Now, a bluestone wall and steps lead to an arched stone pedestal designed to hold just the right piece of artwork or statuary. The patio that stretches across the back of house is constructed of flagstone laid in a rectangular pattern. An insert of two-foot square paving stones laid on the diagonal creates a "carpet" for the dining area.
On the second floor of the house, Petro replaced the master bedroom windows with another set of French doors and added a small French-style ironwork balcony so the client can sit outside on temperate mornings with a cup of coffee and survey the garden below. A fiberglass spa was nestled into one side of the patio, complete with a faux stone panel on the bottom that lifts off for access to the mechanisms inside.
A shell-shaped bronze fountain was also built into the patio, as well as a fireplace that enables the area to be used in chilly weather. Petro hollowed out part of the wall next to the fireplace for wood storage, but the family pet has appropriated the space as a doghouse.
According to Litchfield, the client's main priority was to have "a relaxing garden space to unwind in, almost like therapy." The entire project took about five months to complete, but through careful planning in great detail, right down to the remote control that turns the spa, fountain and lights on and off from inside the house, this client has exactly the kind of garden she wanted.
A DC Landscape Transformed
Don Gwiz, vice-president of Lewis Aquatech, believes that the most important element in successful landscape design is an open dialogue with the client. "It takes good communication and a client who is understanding," he says, "because there is always change, there's always evolution to the plan that's eventually developed."
Gwiz has no preferences about the timing of projects because, he says, "There is always a downside to construction. If you start in the fall and work through the winter, there's a lot of stop and start based on wet weather and adverse cold weather, so you've got a construction site that sits idle for a longer period of time. If you start in the spring and it's a typical DC spring, it rains every other day and the site is a mud hole. If it's summer, it's dry and you can get the work done consecutively, but the client wants to use the product. So there's a downside to every season, and the clients need to pick the one that suits their family lifestyle the most."
Like Petro, Lewis Aquatech also develops detailed design plans for any project, but Gwiz says a design "is never finalized" until the client uses the space. A good example, he says, is a recent project in Northwest DC where the homeowners decided to upgrade their current property instead of moving. "They decided to do a facelift and make it more inviting and user friendly," says Gwiz.
The house was built into a sloping lot, with a spacious stone terrace outside the main level. Steps led down to a wide lawn. The existing pool, running parallel to the house, was just beyond it. The clients wanted new stone terraces and a replacement for the wooden deck.
Landscape architect Andy Balderson of Donovan, Feola, Balderson & Associates, hired to design the outdoor project, came up with a much more ambitious plan.
Balderson and Aquatech proposed an upper terrace comprised of two levels, a secondary "pool deck" terrace below, and a new swimming pool that would run perpendicular to the house with a disappearing back edge. After two meetings to discuss various options, the clients decided to go ahead with the plan, but they also decided to build an addition onto the house to provide more space inside.
Gwiz worked with the builder to set construction guidelines and timelines, and the work then got underway. The plans were modified to relocate the pool on a central axis with the new addition. Behind the back edge of the pool, which drops down seven feet to a lower level, a seating area was created so that the clients can sit and watch the waterfall.
During the design process, Gwiz likes to accompany his clients to various sites and showrooms to select materials and to see projects that are akin to their new designs. "If you take them on a field trip," he says, "it helps them visualize what's going to happen in their back yard and helps them get other new ideas." Gwiz showed this particular client a negative-edge pool tinted Mediterranean midnight blue, a flagstone waterline tile used in pools, a flagstone patio with bull-nose flagstone coping and a yard with multiple-level terraces. The homeowners decided to use these materials and elements in their project.
Still, it was only after the upper terrace was in place that the clients realized how much space was available just outside the kitchen door. They decided to add some of the other items they'd seen on the field trips, including an outdoor stone fireplace and an outdoor kitchen, complete with grill and refrigerator. The clients are now considering the addition of a pergola with ceiling fans overhead. Gwiz says that projects "always take longer than anticipated because of field changes and unforeseen conditions." But he says that as long as the quality of the work is excellent and you keep clients informed, "the end product is well worth the wait."
"It takes good communication and a client who is understanding," says Don Gwiz, "because there is always change, there's always evolution to the plan that's eventually developed."
Like his clients on this project, Gwiz says a lot of homeowners in the metropolitan region live in areas where prices have increased dramatically over the past several years. "They can take the home equity," he says, and "allocate it to new patios, trellises, and other outdoor amenities to make the space more modern."
This DC residence added bubbling built-in spa when they
remodeled their back yard and pool.
The project incorporates a negative-edge pool
and a spacious flagstone patio.
